"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." --Henry David Thoreau


"Service is the rent we pay for being, It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time."

--Marion Wright Edelman


"The fruit of love is SERVICE. The fruit of service is PEACE" --Mother Teresa

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sunsets Say it All

These pictures are courtesy of Grenada Explorer on Facebook, but I could NOT resist in sharing them with the world. I remember this particular night and remember thinking how incredibly gorgeous the sky looked. Life is beautiful and the best sunsets are in the Caribbean. Hands down...




Monday, August 1, 2011

I'm on House Arrest

Yup, you read that title right. I'm currently on house arrest, not allowed to leave my comfy little one bedroom apartment. No, I didn't pull a Lindsey Lohan, we are currently experiencing our first tropical storm of the hurricane season. I was awoken by 3 consecutive text messages at 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning informing me of the approaching storm. Luckily, we have this awesome Safety and Security Office (Hey Simone!) through the Peace Corps who ensures that while we are sleeping/working/living that no weather creeps up on us. So, while I was in snoozeland, the weather lady was preparing to put me on house arrest. How nice of her!

The Peace Corps has a fairly effective Emergency Action Plan for the Eastern Caribbean countries we serve. This plan provides a series of steps to be taken in the event of a hurricane, the first being Steadfast (aka house arrest), then consolidation to hotel/safe house (free air conditioning!) and finally evacuation (oh shit). Our S & S officer put us in category 1 early Sunday morning, informing us that we should gather a bag of clothes and important documents while remaining in our homes until further notice. The slowly approaching tropical storm was gaining momentum, but the tricky part of tropical storms/hurricanes is that you never know what route the storm is going to take. I don't like that feeling of uncertainty. My bag was packed quickly.

What to do while the U.S. Government puts you on house arrest? Make a bucket list, read an entire book on the Kindle, wash your clothes only to find out your spinner is broke, clean out your fridge, experiment in the kitchen, experiment again because the first time failed, pace around the house, and finally give up and take a nap. THIS IS FALSE IMPRISONMENT OBAMA!!!

Thankfully, the tropical storm spared Grenada and the other islands of the Eastern Caribbean, waiting to turn into Hurricane Emily until 50 miles to the west of us. We did receive some wicked thunderstorms though, lightning like I have never seen before. Have you ever heard thunder roll off of mountains? CRAZYYYYY sound, something I have never heard before. It reminded me of a bowling alley when the lanes are booked full. First tropical storm/hurricane of the season complete, I'm sure more to come. Stay tuned.

Also, Happy Emancipation Day to Grenada!!!!